There was the smack of Carmelo Anthony’s shoulder on the block, pump-faking him into the air for the and-one. There was the sting of getting popped in the eye by Pablo Prigioni on a drive. There were the elbows that swung at his gut when he darted into the key.

Though an undeterred Hayward responded with a season-high 33 points against the Knicks, these are the nightly hits that come with being Utah’s go-to player. These are also the non-calls that come with being a budding No. 1 option that has yet to garner the respect.

“I’m kind of more of an offensive focus for other teams,” Hayward said prior to Utah’s Dec. 29 game against the Clippers. “It’s been a process learning how to handle that.”

Heavier than the physical contact in the lane, though, is the burden of leading the rebuilding Jazz up the ladder in the stacked West. Hayward is blossoming with career-high averages, but is the fifth-year swingman finally ready to seize the franchise’s reins?

***

Standing 5’11 and 155 pounds of skin and bones, Hayward wasn’t his team’s first option as a freshman at Indiana’s Brownsburg High School. He wasn’t the second, third or fourth option, either.

Instead he zealously played StarCraft video games. He sat with his parents and twin sister rather than his teammates at varsity football games. He smoked his teammates at ping pong, foosball and pool.

But on the court? No one expected much.

“I didn’t even notice him until he started raining threes on us,” said Grantland’s Mark Titus, a former high-school teammate. “Just a tiny, tiny dude who could shoot.”

He was more fit for tennis than hoops. With his slight frame and superb agility, Hayward spent hours training with a private tennis coach in hopes of succeeding long-term in that sport. But a sudden growth spurt altered his plans, skyrocketing him to 6’8 and 185 pounds by his senior year. The combination of Hayward’s ball-handling, outside shooting and athleticism allowed him to dominate along the perimeter and in the post, leading Brownsburg to the state title.

He also morphed into one of the top tennis players in Indiana, reaching the state singles quarterfinals. But as college basketball coaches began to watch him play, it became clear Hayward’s future lied on the hardwood.

“If he played tennis year round, he had a strong chance of probably playing professional tennis,” former Brownsburg tennis coach Eric Esterline said.

Still, Hayward wasn’t a five-star basketball recruit and garnered three scholarship offers before deciding on Butler. Not one to seek attention, he made the right plays at the right times, quietly coming into his own as a lead-by-example kind of player for Brad Stevens’ club.

“Whether it was him getting a big-time block, a steal against Murray State, he wasn’t somebody who needed to say a whole lot,” former Butler teammate Willie Veasley said. “Just somebody who went on the court and did what coach asked for when we needed it.”

He wasn’t the one anyone imagined would lead a Cinderella Butler team all the way to the title game against Duke in 2010. But there Hayward found himself, an unlikely star thrust into the ring with the highest of stakes. A few years before, he almost traded in his high-tops for a racquet. On that night, his half-court hurl at the buzzer almost broke the Blue Devils and almost made him an instant legend. (READ MORE.)

Richardson, Walker’s former AAU coach with the New York Gauchos, had similar reservations. When he first heard Walker wanted to be a Husky, he laughed. UConn hadn’t even shown any interest and Walker was projected to be a mid-major player.

“I don’t think you’re good enough to play there yet,” Richardson told the Rice High School point guard, prodding him to think more realistically about his future. “There’s not a lot of late bloomers that are six foot.”

But reality wasn’t a message the kid with sky-high dreams wanted to hear, even if scouting reports sent him back down to earth. He could make shots when needed — but could he become a consistent shooter? He could dazzle — but could he defend? His crossovers could leave defenders’ legs twisted in ways they shouldn’t — but could he command a team?

Walker heard all of the questions. He longed for a chance to give answers.

“He took everything personal,” said Richardson, now an assistant coach at Arizona. “Religiously, he was always in the Gauchos gym. He never allowed himself to be complacent with just being good. He always wanted to be great.”

***

It’s a hot morning in Los Angeles in early November, almost reaching the 80s before noon. The Hornets are shooting around in STAPLES Center, preparing for the Lakers later that night.

Walker is in a light mood, knocking down shots, inching closer, stepping back, finding his rhythm.

In a larger sense, the fourth-year pro is trying to find his stride in a league saturated with point guards. He’s years removed from his prep days, let alone leading UConn to a national championship in 2011. Yet those same questions about his outside shooting and defense still remain.

This is a pivotal season for Walker, whose four-year, $48 million contract extension secured him as a key piece in the franchise’s future. Will he grow into an elite point guard or will he not rise to the occasion? This is a critical year for the Hornets, too. Last season’s first-round playoff appearance set the bar high for this season. Will they take the next step in winning a series or crack amid the hype?

Charlotte’s success is tied to Walker’s and Walker’s to Charlotte’s. Both have potential. Both have something to prove. And both know their fates are intertwined.

“I just want to win,” Walker said while sitting courtside after shootaround. “Of course I can say, ‘Oh, I want to be an All-Star’ and things like that. But in order to do all those things, you have to win.” (READ MORE.)

The Warriors and the Lakers traded baskets back and forth in an overtime NBA Summer League game in July. But the fast-paced game slowed down for Kiwi Gardner, the fresh-faced, 21-year-old point guard from Oakland who cracked Golden State’s roster after spending a year with the Warriors’ D-League affiliate in Santa Cruz.

Gardner stood up from the bench midway through and realized where he was. He saw the Lakers jerseys and the NBA logos. He saw Steve Kerr coaching on the sidelines and other legends watching in the stands.

This is what standing on an NBA court felt like; this is where he’s always wanted to be. And like any player on the outside looking in, uncertain when this moment will come again, Gardner tried to salvage every conversation or play around him.

“I feel so close but still I feel so far away. You know it’s right there,” Gardner says of the NBA. “I’m really looking to, you know, break in. Break in the door sometime soon.”

After playing a few minutes here and there throughout the summer, he exploded for seven points in a single minute of the Warriors’ final game against the Bucks.

Every minute counts for Gardner, who remembers the feeling of not having any. He remembers traveling to different cities to D-League tryouts last year.

With a hundred bucks for his entry fee in one hand, his NBA dream in the other, Gardner tried out for the Fort Wayne Mad Ants, Idaho Stampede, Bakersfield Jam, L.A. D-Fenders, Reno Bighorns and the Warriors.

Gardner, 5-7, had something to prove. He was known for his dazzling dribbling moves on YouTube, but had little college experience. He committed to play at Providence, but never gained eligibility to play. Then he transferred to a JC in Texas, Midland College, playing in just nine games before deciding to turn pro. Gardner was undrafted.

But everyone who paid their hundred bucks to get in the gym had their own back stories, too. None of it mattered anymore; everyone at D-League tryouts wanted the same thing: a chance.

“It’s hard to even get a real look in that kind of setting. In that situation, it’s hard to make the people that’s important, or make the people that’s looking, even know you exist,” Gardner says. “I was hanging on by a thread the whole time.”

Gardner didn’t try to do too much. Knock down the shot when it’s open, make the extra pass, push the ball up the floor as quick as possible; he tried to play a role and play it well. (READ MORE.)

Mirin Fader strives to combine her passions for basketball and writing as a sportswriter. Mirin is currently a sports reporter at the Orange County Register, writing features on all sports. Her work has appeared in SLAM Magazine, SBNation.com, Dime Magazine, Clippers.com and WNBA.com (LA Sparks). Based in Los Angeles, Mirin ... Continue reading →